All things freshwater: news, analysis, humor, reviews, and commentary from Michael E. 'Aquadoc' Campana, hydrogeologist, hydrophilanthropist, Professor of Hydrogeology and Water Resources Management in the Geography Program of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) at Oregon State University and Emeritus Professor of Hydrogeology at the University of New Mexico. He is Past President of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA), Past Chair of the Scientists & Engineers Division of the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), Past President of the nonprofit NGWA Foundation and President and Founder the nonprofit Ann Campana Judge Foundation, an organization involved with WaSH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) in Central America. He serves on the Steering Committee of the Global Water Partnership (GWP). CYA statement: with the exception of guest posts, the opinions expressed herein are solely those of Michael E. Campana and not those of CEOAS, Oregon State University, ACJF, AWRA, NGWA, GWP, my spouse Mary Frances, or any other person or organization.

Texas Agriculture Law BlogDon't let the name fool you - there are lots of water issues in agriculture and Tiffany Dowell of Texas A&M University does a fabulous job with this important Internet resource. Give it a read - I do every day!

The Way of WaterDr. Jennifer Veilleux records her fieldwork, research, and thoughts about water resources development and management, indigenous rights, ethics, and a host of other issues.

Thirsty in SuburbiaGayle Leonard documents things from the world of water that make us smile: particularly funny, amusing and weird items on bottled water, water towers, water marketing, recycling, the art-water nexus and working.

This Day in Water HistoryMichael J. 'Mike' McGuire, engineer extraordinaire, NAE member, and author of 'The Chlorine Revolution', blogs about historical happenings in the fields of drinking water and wastewater keyed to calendar dates.

Watershed Moments: Thoughts from the HydrosphereFrom Sarah Boon - rediscovering her writing and editing roots after 13 years, primarily as an environmental scientist. Her writing centres around creative non-fiction, specifically memoir and nature writing. The landscapes of western Canada are her main inspiration.

WaterWiredAll things freshwater: news, comment, publications and analysis from hydrogeologist Michael E. Campana, Professor at Oregon State University and Technical Director of the AWRA.

With much discussion of climate change in Congress, in the news, and among constituents, some commonly used words may be misunderstood or misused. Below are explanations of several key terms: weather, climate, climate variability, and climate change, as well as some associated concepts.

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific place and time, described by such conditions as temperature, precipitation, humidity, cloudiness, and wind speed. Weather can include conditions of the Earth’s water and land surfaces as well, with such variables as wave height and snow cover. Weather conditions can vary rapidly or last up to a few days in the mid-latitudes. NOAA compiles observations from weather stations around the United States, in the oceans, from international sources, and from other federal agencies. NOAA analyzes weather data historically and provides multiday forecasts or seasonal outlooks.

Climate is defined by the long-term statistics of weather compiled for a specified place (Figure 1), including the globe. For example, climate would include the maximum hourly precipitation in April in a particular county averaged over 30 years or the global mean surface temperature from 1981 to 2010. The availability of long-term data varies by location, making climate analysis for some locations challenging.

NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information defines U.S. climate normals as “three-decade averages of climatological variables including temperature and precipitation” for defined locations. The most recent climate normal for a defined location uses weather observations for 1981-2010. The next will cover 1991- 2020. People use climate normals for a wide array of purposes, such as placing daily weather into a historical context or determining technical specifications for the resilience of buildings and infrastructure against extreme weather.

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Seems like we should consider even decadal variation as a "weather" phenomenon. In the overall scheme of climate, such flexes would seem to represent the 'noise' rather than the long-term trends. And while NOAA uses 30-year averages, that is simply a function of our rather short historic record. The resulting 30-year number is an average of conditions during that time interval. Use of the word "normal" should probably not even be applied to weather or climate.

Circle of BlueCircle of Blue uses journalism, scientific research, and conversations from around the world to bring the story of the global freshwater crisis to life. Here you’ll find new water reports, news headlines, and hear from leading scientists.

Drink Water For LifeThe idea is simple. Drink water or other cheap beverages instead of expensive lattes, sodas, and bottled water for a set period of time. A day, a week, a month, Lent, Ramadan, Passover, or some other holiday period.

eFlowNet NewsletterFrom the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) this newsletter has lots of information about environmental flows and related issues.

Sustainable Water Resources RoundtableSince 2002, the Sustainable Water Resources Roundtable (SWRR) has brought together federal, state, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors to advance our understanding of the nation’s water resources and to develop tools for their sustainable management.